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Sunday, January 20, 2008

One thing that unites citizens of both parties, at least in my city, is the topic of urban spawl and uncontrolled development. You would never believe it, but Florida really does have a state comprehensive growth plan that local governments are supposed to abide by in their own growth management plans.

Unfortunately, changes can be made to these plans relatively easily. RIGHT now, all a developer has to do is persuade a majority of a city or county commission to grant a change (easy enough with the right campaign contribution). Often this change is made with NO citizen input, and BOOM, another strip mall or unfinished condo.

(What I really enjoy is driving down 17-92 and seeing the vacant, boarded up shopping centers on either side of a patch of trees---and then seeing that lone patch of trees torn down to build yet another vacant strip mall.)

The Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment will mandate a referendum for any comprehensive plan amendments approved by the city and county commissions. In other words, the VOTERS OF THAT COMMUNITY are the final word.

Sensible?? Intelligent?? Your damn skippy it is.

Logically, our elected officials are doing everything they can to STOP THIS MADNESS.

On a radio call-in show last week on NPR, an opponent of this measure was trying to tell people that voters would have to vote on EVERY new building that gets built (a HUGE lie). Then he went on to say that this would hurt the vulnerable big developers. THAT was rich--big developers crying VICTIM!

That line of attack doesn't work, so they resorted to something more sinister. The "honorable" John Thrasher, former GOP Speaker of the FL House, sent out this letter to people who have already signed the petition. This takes LYING to a new level. Get this:

If you read their proposed Constitutional Amendment (it’s reprinted on your PETITION REVOCATION FORM) you will also notice that it turns all power over use of Florida’s lands to certain “electors.”

Guess who the “electors” will be. The “special interests” and their slick lawyers will rig the system to put our future in the hands of their cronies. Their “electors” will decide our fate and the fate of Florida.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? The "electors", folks, are the "VOTERS" of the COMMUNITY!! I wish we were the “special interests”, but those are the the big developers we are fighting against.

Unbelievable! I often wonder how these people can live with themselves. If your position is so weak you have to lie by taking the position on the other side, maybe you ARE on the wrong side! Let me make this clear: you know they don't have a leg to stand on when the Developer Lobby starts crying about our beauty being destroyed by BIG DEVELOPERS!! But they can't win on their merits. (Please let us continue uncontrolled development by pumping money into elected officials coffers). So they must pretend they are with us in opposing...them?

But it gets even better.

The Developers are now putting forth their OWN petition that reads very similar to the petition for Florida Hometown Democracy. I saw this petition at several places (it's GREEN, whereas the real one is WHITE) and thought GREAT! Grassroots is working! IT's a SCAM! Click here and see the fake one.

If you read closely, you will see how this is actually an ALTERNATE petition that is worded to UNDERMINE and SUPERCEDE the FL Hometown Democracy petition. The developer petition is a petition to just let you petition. Under their amendment, you could have a referendum on a comprehensive plan change if 10% of the electorate goes to the supervisor of elections and then signs a petition saying you want a referendum on a plan change. Although they wouldn't mind if this one passes, it's designed to siphon off votes from people who otherwise would vote for the REAL one.

Dirty Tricks at its best.

Let's NOT LET THEM WIN.

Florida voter, there is many things you can do to stop this.

First, Print out and sign a Petition: Click here. Get your friends, family, and coworkers to sign as well. The deadline IS FRIDAY!!!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

I, along with many Florida Democrats, switched parties to vote in the GOP primary Jan. 29 so our votes would count--since the GOP only took half their delegates, but the DNC took all of them. I plan on switching back after the primary. (Although I may hold on to this affiliation through November, just to make sure my vote counts.)

I would love to rant about being bombarded with GOP commercials and GOP candidate visits, while the Dem candidates storm across the most GOP state in the union. I would love to rant about the DNC saying the candidates refusing to talk to swing voters in an important state is all about principle, but in the same breath saying they ARE allowed to take as much campaign money as they want from the state. But that's not what this is about.

I realized something very important. Who the hell am I and other Dem voters who registered GOP going to vote for?

If I were in Michigan, I would vote for Romney to keep him in the race like Kos suggested. Simple. Let him spend his fortune bashing the GOP frontrunner.

In South Carolina, I would vote for Fred Thompson. He is going after Huckabee with a vengence. I think it would be wonderful to keep him in the race to split the evangelical vote for as long as possible.

But here in Florida, I'm torn. If Romney wins MI, and Fred wins SC, I would be tempted to vote Guiliani. That way, you have a 5-tier race. Of course, since Guiliani has pinned ALL of his hopes on Florida--and I REALLY am terrified of a Guiliani presidency--this could be a chance to shoot that SOB down once and for all.

Some are voting for Huckabee because they assume he will be the most easily defeated in the General. He is in over his head, and he is nowhere in states without a lot of Bible thumpers. But I think he is too affable and too dangerous. He is probably the only one that would make me pine for Guiliani, so I can't risk him winning. Any of the GOP players will make it close, and although I think Obama or Hillary will trounce him--I can't risk it.

Of course, if I don't play the "weakest link" game, I would just go with the only GOPer who's tolerable. For me, that would be McCain. At least he has a history of some bipartisanship, and he doesn't pander. Sure, he's an idiot he declared Baghdad safe with 1,000 bodyguards. Sure, he kissed Bush's ass after his team push-polled him about having a "black daughter". Come to think of it, I can't vote for his sorry ass either.

Ron Paul? He's just a nut. A racist lunatic who I can't bring myself to vote for.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

I say this because they created him. I have said in previous posts that they just use the evangelical sheep for votes and then ignore them after the election. That is why gay marriage was on the agenda just a few months before the Nov. 2006 election when they saw the writing on the wall. (Too little too late--it didn't work.)

The GOP throws abortion, gay marriage, and dead women on respirators out there to motivate these folks--but their agenda is and always will be taking care of Big Business, Big Oil, and the SuperWealthy. Cutting taxes for the rich has always been what they have fought for time and time again. Under Bush, the burden has been completely placed on the working middle class while the rich enjoy their lowest tax rates in American history. Click here, here, here, and here. (PS--rent Maxed Out from Blockbuster this weekend.)

This has NEVER been about promoting "family values"--re: evagelical beliefs on abortion, gay marriage, and euthanasia. (Sidenote--notice "helping the poor", which unlike these issues, is mentioned in every book in the Bible, was dropped from list.)

The evangelical voters are to be used, not actually catered to.

But what happens when an evangelical actually buys into this crap and thinks he's really a part of all of this?

You get Mike Huckabee.

I have said previously that he was getting shunned by the establishment, which includes Pat Robertson and his ilk. And now he has actually won something and is a real contender. John McCain is the establishment candidate, Rudy is acceptable--but Huckabee? That was NOT supposed to happen. And you know what? The establishment is not letting this happen. The attacks from the right have begun, and he will not be the nominee.

I am not one for making predictions, but I promise you the nominee for the GOP will be McCain or Guiliani. You can take that to the bank and cash it now.

By the way, I am not the only one who said this. The VoteMaster at www.electoral-vote.com said the same thing in a brilliant post. (Click the link to see all the hyperlinks):

The bashing of Mike Huckabee--from the Republicans--has begun. See here, here, here, here, and here. Not a peep from the Democrats. They like Huckabee. They think he's in over his head and will be easy prey in November, in the unlikely event he gets that far. It's the Republican establishment that hates Huckabee. The reason is clear but the media are scared to talk about it. The truth is what the current administration really cares about is tax cuts, expecially big ones for the rich. What was the first thing George Bush after Jan. 20, 2001? Tax cuts, including lowering the top marginal rate from 39.6% to 35%. If you are making $10 million a year, that's $460,000 extra in your pocket. After Bush's 2004 victory, he said that the election gave him political capital and he intended to spend it. So what did he do? He spent two months traveling around the country trying to sell a plan to privatize (read: phase out) social security. He didn't spend two months trying to get a constitutional amendment banning abortions or forbidding same-sex marriages. He could have, but didn't want to spend his political capital that way. Even when pleasing the Base was cheap he didn't do it. Remember that his long-time friend, Harriet Miers, was his first Supreme Court nominee, and he asked her to withdraw only after the Base protested loudy. The Republican party's dirty little secret is that upper management really doesn't care much about the social issues; they care about taxes. They trot out the social issues just before each election to whip the Base up into a frenzy and conveniently forget about them after winning. Huckabee is a real threat because he sincerely believes in the Bible. He's not just making it up to get votes. He's become their Frankenstein monster and must be eliminated. [emphasis added]

PS--To add something, you and I got a tax break as well. It amounted to a little under 40 dollars. The Oil companies, who are raking in the largest profits in human history, got "needed" tax breaks worth millions. When these trailer-park hicks wise up to this, the party will be over. The GOP is counting on keeping them ignorant. We will see what happens.

In the meantime, I am really enjoying watching the GOP establishment squirm over Huckabee. They deserve him.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

The latest polls show a dead heat (Statistical tie) between Hillary, Edwards, and Obama. Let's take a quick poll this Glorious New Year's Day...

Remember, this is who you THINK will win, not who you want to win.

Keep in mind that it's normally 100,000 people who vote in the Hawkeye Cauci, and it's important to note that supporters of any candidate who does not meet the 15% threshold will have to make a SECOND CHOICE.

Since no poll shows Richardson, Dodd, Biden, Kucinich, or Gravel anywhere close to 15%--their supporters will most likely have to make another choice between the top three.

If you can figure out the second choice for these supporters, I think you will have a good idea of who will win on Thursday.

The only thing I can promise is the winner will make the victory seem more important than it is, and the losers will do the opposite. I know--not much of a prediction.